Over the past four years Russ and I have visited with dozens of people who do wildlife conservation in Africa. They’re involved in rescue rehab, anti-poaching, human-wildlife-conflict, activism, and education. Some are young some older. Some very experienced and others not. Some are successful and others less so. As we have revisited and kept track of many of these dedicated people we’ve seen a few common factors. Three factors seem to be essential for sustained success in wildlife conservation in Africa. #1 – Create an effective team At the turn of the century I worked as a management consultant. My…

Overlanding is awesome! We meet dedicated and passionate people like Moses, the man who reforms elephant poachers. Moses hiked us all over the place in his small village in Uganda. After meeting reformed poachers and farmers saving rainforest I was blown away. Moses, a former wildlife ranger, has accomplished so much. However, I realized we knew very little about the man himself. So, I sent him some questions to answer for us. Introducing Moses, the man who reforms elephant poachers Where were you born? I was born and grew up in Bweronde Rugando village Kayonza sub county Kanungu district Uganda….

Some myths are entertaining, some darn right silly, but there are also myths that are deadly. Many of us were probably introduced to Greek myths some time during our school years. Myths were stories used by people to explain things in their world. Today we know that a myth is a false belief or idea. It is not actually true. For example it is still a widely held belief among some African tribes that hearing or seeing an owl is bad luck. It is believed that someone you know is going to die. Most of us understand this isn’t true….

An American opportunist into killing for profit is accused of prematurely offering trophy hunters a black manned male lion. Almost eighteen months ago a much loved male lion was lured out of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and brutally shot by a trophy hunter. Thousands of tourists to the park came to see this lion. I’m told he was quite the sight as he strutted his stuff to his enthralled audience. Because of the ego and selfishness of one man from the USA this proud lion is seen no more, he is dead. Killing for profit When I saw the…

If the world had more people like Raphael we wouldn’t have to worry about wildlife conservation. “Let’s pack up,” I tell Russ that morning. Russ wanted to leave our table and chairs under the tree to save our campsite while we took off for church. However, I had this inkling that we may not come back, that we may stay at the other camp a bit further up the mountain. Little did we know we were soon to discover wildlife conservation as it should be. “What was I thinking?” It’s grassy with a few rustic huts close to a huge…